'Big Dig,' which puts flowers throughout Jersey City, wins $10G and Make a Difference Day Award

Jersey City’s “Big Dig” has won a $10,000 Make a Difference Day Award from USA Weekend magazine.

The massive volunteer effort spearheaded by the city and the Jersey City Parks Coalition gathered some 600 people last fall to plant 18,000 tulip and daffodil bulbs, plants that are now blooming across the city.

“We are extremely honored to receive this prestigious award and recognition,” Mayor Jerramiah Healy said in a news release. “Make a Difference Day, and particularly the ‘Big Dig’ project, illustrated the immense value of public-private partnerships and what a positive impact volunteerism can have on a community.”

The Jersey City project will be among 13 volunteer initiatives receiving 2012 Make a Difference Day Awards at a ceremony in Washington, D.C., next Thursday.

The prize money will go to the nonprofit Parks Coalition, according to Healy press secretary Jennifer Morrill.

Taking place each October, Make a Difference Day is called the nation’s largest day of service. It was created in 1992 by Gannett Co. Inc.’s USA Weekend magazine along with partners Newman’s Own Inc. and Points of Light. Winners are chosen from thousands of grassroots volunteer efforts.

In Jersey City last fall, Parks Coalition volunteers reached out to Jersey City’s corporate community, raising nearly $15,000 to help pay for bulbs and gardening supplies. The city identified the parks, prepared some sites and promoted the event.

Sponsors included Century 21 Plaza Realty, the Hudson County Improvement Authority, the Liberty Science Center, the West Side Community Alliance/Honeywell, the Jersey City Municipal Utilities Authority, Liberty State Park, PSE&G, United Water and the Westin Jersey City.

“This event was a great way to really make a difference in the community,” said Charlene Burke, project manager for the “Big Dig.”

“Many of the participants have provided us with photos from the 80 planting sites, which we have posted on the Jersey City Parks Coalition Facebook page. We hope that everyone involved will look forward to ‘Big Dig’ 2012.”